The next match was between Dosu Kinuta and Chōji Akimichi. Dosu won with overwhelming force, bringing the preliminary trials to an end.
The Third Hokage stepped forward and addressed the exhausted genin. He explained that the final matches would take place in one month's time, in front of the entire village. This would be a crucial period for every participant to prepare themselves. As the Hokage continued in more detail, Akuma's gaze shifted toward Might Guy, who looked deeply troubled.
"Guy-sensei, let's go check on Brother Lee and Sister Tenten," Akuma suggested.
"What about Neji?" Guy asked.
Akuma glanced at Neji, who stood below, silently listening to the Hokage's speech.
"The match is over. There's nothing to worry about," Akuma said flatly.
Guy nodded in agreement, and together they headed toward the Konoha Hospital.
There, Akuma checked on both Tenten and Rock Lee's condition. Luckily, neither had suffered major injuries. Most importantly, Rock Lee had avoided the tragic fate Akuma remembered from another timeline. Rock Lee was expected to wake up in just a few days.
Hearing this, Akuma let out a subtle sigh of relief. But almost instantly, his expression turned grim.
Thank you, Brother Lee… for all the love and care you've shown me. As repayment, I saved you today. But from this point on, we owe each other nothing. If you stand in my way in the future… I will have no choice but to kill you.
Akuma spoke these words only in his heart, his eyes clouded with gloom. Leaving the hospital, he walked toward his usual training grounds, his mind heavier than ever.
He knew the hardest part of his mission was not destroying villages, but facing those he cared for. He had tried to keep his distance from Konoha's people, avoiding ties that could make him falter. And yet, despite all his efforts, attachments had still formed.
But Akuma had already resolved himself. When the time came, he would not hesitate. He would kill the Third Hokage… and reduce Konoha to ashes.
All that remained was to wait. And so, day after day, Akuma trained relentlessly, sharpening both body and spirit, as he desperately awaited the month to pass. When Orochimaru launched his invasion, that moment of chaos would be the perfect time for Akuma to execute his plan.
Two weeks had passed since the end of the preliminary trials, and as always, Akuma was training intensely. Hours into his session, he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Turning, he found Sasuke Uchiha standing there, his body still wrapped in bandages. Judging by his condition, Sasuke had come straight from the hospital.
"Have you come to challenge me again?" Akuma's voice was low and sharp. "If so, remember this—if I win, I'll rip off both your arms… and your eyes."
His tone carried no exaggeration, only cold certainty. Sasuke instinctively stepped back in fear, but quickly forced himself forward again, as if ashamed of his own hesitation. He locked his gaze onto Akuma's face, trembling yet determined.
"He told me… that you're strong enough to fight him. Strong enough to hurt him." Sasuke suddenly dropped to his knees, his pride discarded. "So… please. Make me strong enough to kill that man."
Akuma's eyes narrowed. Of all the things he expected, Sasuke begging at his feet was not one of them. Then again, for revenge… a man would throw away anything. Still, one thing surprised him.
"You're talking about your brother, aren't you? The one who slaughtered your clan—your mother, your father… Itachi Uchiha."
At those words, Sasuke's body trembled violently, his rage threatening to spill over. That reaction was all the answer Akuma needed.
So… it was Itachi who had reignited Sasuke's hatred. That explained how he had recovered so quickly from the trauma Akuma himself had inflicted upon him.
Akuma looked down coldly at the kneeling Uchiha.
"Leave. I have no interest, nor time, to teach you anything."
"Please!" Sasuke's voice cracked with desperation. "Please—I need to kill that man! Help me!"
For a moment, Akuma said nothing. His crimson eyes stared at the boy before him, but in that trembling figure, he saw something else—something from his own past.
He remembered the days when he and his three friends worked as body disposers for a mafia boss. Cutting up corpses, dumping them in acid, tossing them into the sea—that had been their life. Until one day, they found a baby girl near a brothel, abandoned in a dumpster. At first, they tried to walk away. But the sound of her cry stopped Akuma in his tracks. It reminded him of his real baby sister… the one who had died because of him.
Against his friends' protests, he picked her up. He named her Luisa, after the sister he had lost.
Over the years, Luisa became the light in their dark world. The four of them treated her as their own sister, loved her more than their own lives. Every birthday was celebrated. Every small smile she gave them was cherished.
But one day, news came that shattered everything. Luisa had been assaulted—by the mafia boss's sons. Akuma and his friends rushed to find her, frantic with fear. They found her on the roof, her clothes torn, her body bruised, her eyes hollow.
He begged her not to jump. The sister who had always listened to him… ignored his cries. She fell before his eyes.
Akuma had held her broken body and wept until there were no tears left. That day, he swore to kill every single one of them—everyone involved.
The memory boiled up inside him, threatening to consume him with rage. But Akuma forced it down, breathing heavily, wiping the wetness from his eyes.
Looking back at Sasuke, still trembling, still begging, Akuma's expression hardened.
"Get out," he growled, his voice carrying a murderous edge. "Before I kill you."